Page 84 of The Wrong Date Deal

“Hermes just texted to ask the same thing,” he said.

August laughed, the sound more akin to a groan than anything else. “Of course he did.”

But Ford looked up and caught her eye and the joy she saw there was something August knew she was feeling too. It was something she hadn’t seen in a long time and, no matter what happened, she was never going to be upset at Piper or this group for helping bring that back to both of them.

Chapter Nineteen

“What do you wear to go dancing?” Piper asked, suddenly realizing she’d been all in on the date and hadn’t thought through the logistics of how unprepared she’d feel once it finally arrived. What did she do with a date she really, genuinely wanted to go on?

Massima laughed. “Anything you want, but probably something you can move in.”

“Yes. Thank you. I had actually figured that part out. I wasn’t planning on showing up in a suit of armor.”

“You own a suit of armor?”

“No.” Piper closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Whatever you wear, August will love it.”

Piper ducked out of her closet to look at Massima, who was lying on her stomach across the foot of Piper’s bed, one hand propping her head up. “You think so?”

“Yes.” Massima grinned, her eyes sparkling. “Plus, you already have an advantage.”

“How so?”

“Well, you went to meet August there once before, when she was on a date. You know what she was wearing. Hell, the first time you two met, you were both on dates. You know what the other dresses like for them.”

“She didn’tknowshe was going dancing on that date. She wasn’t dressed for it.”

Massima groaned. “Whatever you wear will be fine. Stop overthinking it and just enjoy finally going on a datewith August.”

Piper sighed. “You say that like it’s easy. Meanwhile, I’m over here trying to get ready for a first date I’m actually worried about for the first time in ages.”

Massima stood up, moved to grab Piper’s shoulders and look her in the eye, and said, “You and August know each other. There’s nothing either of you is going to do that will ruin the date. It’s a foregone conclusion that it will go well.”

Piper shot her a look. “Have you ever gone on a date with a friend? Have you ever tried to go from friends to something more? Have you considered just how badly you wreck everything if it doesn’t work?”

“That’s not going to happen. You two have only been friends for a few months. This isn’t like trying to get it on with someone who feels like a sibling to you. That energy you two have is going to translate perfectly into dating.”

“Still lose a friend if it doesn’t work out, though.”

Massima hummed thoughtfully. “I don’t think that’s true. Maybe it will be awkward for a minute, but I’m sure you’ll work it out and be friends regardless.”

Piper shrugged. It was hard to imagine, mostly, she realized, because she didn’t want to bejust friends. She’d loved having August in her life and getting to be her friend. But, from the moment she’d acknowledged she was interested in August, shehadn’t wanted to be friends. Sure, if things didn’t work out, she’d probably get over it and they could go back to being friends, but, as they hung on the precipice of something more, the idea of it not working out and having to hang out with August and her future girlfriend felt suffocating.

Piper turned back to the wardrobe. “This one,” she said, pulling out a dress that would work great as it swayed and twisted in the dance studio.

“Great choice,” Massima said, a huge, encouraging smile taking over her face.

Piper laughed. “You’d have said that regardless of what I pulled out, wouldn’t you?”

“Maybe not if you pulled out a potato sack.”

“Mm, because my closet is full of those.”

“Hey, you never know.”

“I think you’ve raided it enough times to know, actually.”

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